Wynyard Station welcomes a five-tonne hanging sculpture

For the commuters that stream through Sydney’s Wynyard station every day, your journey has been made a little more interesting.

Over the weekend, a major sculptural artwork has been installed above the escalators linking York street with the main concourse level, and it’s like nothing we’ve seen in an Australian train station.

In fact, it's the kind of world-class public art you'd expect to see in a European train station like Stockholm or Amsterdam.

Interloop. Image: Josh Raymond and Chris Fox

Created by architect and artist Chris Fox, Interloop is a physical re-interpretation of the historic wooden-stepped escalators from Wynyard Station built back in 1931.

“The vast twisting accordion-shaped sculpture reconfigures the heritage escalators that once stood there in a stitched form,” he says.

Image: Josh Raymond and Chris Fox

Weighing over five tonnes and weaving in over 244 treads and four combs from the original escalators, the piece took over six months to design and engineers, and came to life over a 12 week-build (with more than a kilometre of welding needed).

The installation, however, was done over intensive 48-hour period on the weekend.

Image: Josh Raymond and Chris Fox

Commissioned by Transport for NSW, the 50-metre-long sculptural art installation hails the beginning of a new era for Wynyard Station, with the hub getting a $160-million-dollar upgrade.

In this way, Interloop is both a nod to the future while looping in the past.

“The artwork explores the idea that people are stationary on an escalator whilst also travelling, allowing for a moment of pause that occurs mid-motion,” says Fox.

“The sculpture resonates with people in this state, referencing all those journeys that have passed and are now interlooping back.”

Chris Fox under his sculpture. Image: Josh Raymond and Chris Fox

Over the next few weeks, other projects will be rolled out at the station, including LED screens showing videos describing the heritage of the area.

Fox is an award-winning artist and senior lecturer at the University of Sydney in Art Processes and Architecture. More of this, Sydney.